


The Shawshank Dimension

by Herminbean



Series: Doctor Doctor [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Humor, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who), One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-23 12:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23911522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herminbean/pseuds/Herminbean
Summary: Prison life can be a real drag. Stuck in a cell with only yourself for company
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Fourth Doctor
Series: Doctor Doctor [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1213392
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	The Shawshank Dimension

**Author's Note:**

> This is not anything to do with the upcoming Doctor Who story with the Thirteenth Doctor in prison

The pebble clattered against the wall with a pathetic “clink”. It shot off haphazardly, bouncing off the floor and coming to an undignified stop. The Doctor let out a frustrated sigh. He got to his feet and trudged over to the pebble. Scooping it up, he made his way back to his original sitting position, back to the wall, legs tucked up to his chin. He steadied his hand and closed one eye. This time, he would get it. He lurched his hand forward and sent the pebble flying across his cell. It hit the floor, bounced up to the wall, and flew off in the opposite direction. The Doctor frowned. He got to his feet and made his way to the cell door.

“I must repeat my earlier complaint.” He shouted out loud. “This is inhumane without some form of bouncy ball.”

There was no response. And then, the familiar wooshing off air as one of the guards came flying by his cell at such speed it caused his scarf to flutter slightly.

“Alright, good talk.” The Doctor sighed.

He walked up to the resting pebble, picked it up, and sat himself back in his position. 

The Doctor had lost track of how long he had been here. It felt to him like years. Although whenever he asked the guards to scan him to check his DNA file, they would usually come back with “It’s barely been a few hours”. He wanted to call them liars, but he had to admit when it came to keeping time, despite his title, he often found himself being lost in it. Also, he found arguing with robots to be quite tedious.

He wasn’t even sure what he had done to land himself in this prison cell. Although when they picked him up, he didn’t put up much argument. Probably broke the universal equivalent of jaywalking. Seemed like a silly law to the Doctor. Only humans could find a way to make walking a crime.

Whatever the reason, he would be there for a long time it would seem. Unless he could find a way to escape, of course. He had no intention on sitting in this dank room for hundreds of years. He had spent his previous life trapped on earth, and he was damned if some other race with a superiority complex was going to tie him down.

But until he came up with a plan, he needed to keep his sanity. And so, he readied his hand, took another deep breath, and threw.

The pebble bounced off the floor once again. Good start. It flew towards the wall. Excellent. Connection to the wall at just the right angle. Perfect. The pebble began its journey back to the Doctors hand. This was it. 

And then the air seemed to be sucked from the cell. The pebble was pulled from its current trajectory and flew towards the cell door and flew out through the bars. The Doctor stared. He wasn’t sure what emotion he should feel. Anger, frustration, curiosity. He settled on all three as he pulled himself to his feet and darted to the cell door. 

He peered through the bars and found the cause of the suction. A guard had stopped outside his cell. Going from such ferocious speed to a sudden stop had caused a mini vacuum, sucking his pebble from the air. It lay at the guards’ feet as the robot wrestled with a squirming female. It picked her up with relative ease and threw her into the cell opposite the Doctor, slamming the door shut.

“This is crazy. I didn’t do anything.” The lady insisted in an angry tone. 

“That’s what they all say.” The robot buzzed at her in a monotone voice. 

“Well, maybe they’re all telling the truth? Ever think of that, metal head?” The lady snapped.

“I’ll run it by the boss, flesh head.” The robot chimed back.

It buzzed and whirred as it clambered back onto its speeder.

“Excuse me.” The Doctor called out, cheerfully.

The guard turned its head, staring at the Doctor. “What?”

“I don’t suppose you could toss back my pebble, do you?”

The Doctor pointed down to the robotic foot. The guard glanced down, seeing the pebble on the floor. It elongated its arm and plucked the pebble from the ground, staring at it. 

“This pebble?” The guard enquired.

“That’s the one.” The Doctor beamed.

The robotic guard let out the best approximation of a laugh as it could muster through its voice box. With a flick of his wrist, the pebble shot from the robots hand and flew for the Doctors head. He darted out the way as it flew by, missing him by inches. And with that, it whizzed off down the long hallway leaving the two in a cloud of dust. The Doctor frowned.

“Do you think they’re programmed to be rude, or do they develop it over time?” He wiped the dust from his scarf and faced the lady opposite him. “At least I have company now. Hello, I’m the…”

“No.”

The Doctor was taken aback. “That’s a bit presumptuous, I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”

The lady was staring at him, a curious look in her eye. “No no no.” She leant her head out through the bars and called out. “Guard, I want another cell. Anywhere but here.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Lifting an arm, he gave his armpit a deep sniff. No, fresh as always. What was this ladies problem?

“I’m afraid they rarely stop. I guess you’re stuck with me. I can see that distresses you for some reason, but I can assure you, I’m really rather friendly.”

He gave his best, beaming smile and a friendly wave. The lady did not smile back. She frantically began pacing around her cell, tapping at the walls. The Doctor watched with fascination. The look on her face. He could tell she was taking in every detail, every option available to her. 

“I think it’s only fair to tell you, there’s no structural defects in the cells. I checked.” The Doctor shouted.

“I’m sure you won’t mind if I check.” She snapped back, tapping another wall, her ear pressed up against it listening intently.

The Doctor smirked. “Don’t you mean double check?”

The lady stopped in her tracks. She turned to face the Doctor. She seemed almost surprised. Moving away from the wall, she approached her cell door.

“What do you mean?” She asked. The Doctor could tell she was testing him.

“As I was saying, I’m the Doctor.” He stretched out his hand, despite the massive distance between us. “And I think it’s safe to say, so are you.”

The new Doctor couldn’t help but let out a small smile. “That was quicker than most.”

The Doctor leant against the bars letting his hand fall back to his side. “Pretty obvious, I would say. Not many people are that eager to get away from me. You’re either me, or a Zygon.”

Honestly, it was the way the new Doctor immediately got to planning that tipped him off. He had seen that look of concentration and determination on his past faces, he was quite used to it by now. The look was back on her face, and she went back to her wall.

“As much as I’d usually love this, we can’t chat.” She ran up to another wall, giving it a tap and then a kick. “We need to get away from each other, and fast.”

“Why?”

The new Doctor turned to face her past self with a frown. She seemed annoyed with the question.

“Listen, if I have to explain this one more time I might just explode. Past and future meeting isn’t a good thing in normal circumstances.”

The Doctor watched her, curiously. “No, but it is usually a lot of fun.”

The new Doctor softened at that. A small smile crept onto her face. “I suppose it is.” The smile broke instantly. “But lately it’s been less fun.”

“Why?”

She walked up to her cell door and leant against the bars, just as the Doctor was doing.

“You see this face?” She turned her face from side to side giving the Doctor a good look. “This ain’t your next face. Not even the face after that. I’ve had…” She looked up in thought, counting on her fingers. “…eight faces since you. Wait, nine. Whatever, there’s been a lot.”

“And?”

“And, in the last few months,” She put on her deep, serious voice. “I have met them all.” 

The Doctor stared at her blankly. “…and?”

The new Doctor wasn’t sure what else to add. “And that’s not good.”

“Why?”

“Because…” She grasped for the words. “…it’s like, I don’t know, a countdown?”

“And?”

The new Doctor had had enough. “You see this, this is why we can’t stand ourselves. You are infuriating. It’s a countdown. Something big is coming, and we’re almost at zero.”

The Doctor looked on; his face unchanging. Then, a large smile spread across his face. “Like a party?”

“What?”

“Or like when you countdown before bungee jumping?”

“I don’t…”

“Or even when those humans countdown to their new year, and everyone cheers and hug and sing a song of joy? All I’m saying is,” The Doctor said, gently. “maybe, just maybe, it will all be OK.”

The two Doctors looked at each other. The face of the past, smiling, hopeful, and the face of the future, who could only see the potential disaster. He could see it in her face. She wasn’t convinced. Not fully, anyway. And he had to admit, perhaps something bad was coming. Most likely, it was. But when he looked at his future, he realised something. Even he needed to be given hope every now and again.

A loud whooshing brought them back to reality as a guard zoomed by. The new doctor couldn’t help but let out a short laugh of surprise as she staggered away from the bars. The Doctor let out a laugh as well. The two laughed together. After a while, they weren’t even sure what they were laughing about. 

“Right then, Doctor.” The new Doctor wiped a tear from her eye. “What’s the plan?”

The Doctor grinned. He darted around his cell, rummaging his hand around the dust. Finally, he found it. He held up his hand to the cell bars, beaming with pride.

“A pebble?” The new Doctor said, sceptically.

“Ah, not just _A_ pebble.” The Doctor corrected. “The pebble I’ve been practicing with for years.”

“You’ve been here years?” The new Doctor asked.

“Years or hours.”

“Sounds about right.” She leant forward. “So, think you can make the shot?”

The Doctor was happy to see he was still as smart as ever. “Of course.”

He leant his arm out of the bars, pebble in hand. He closed his eye and took aim. The control panel to the new Doctors cell was far, but if he bounced it just right, he could hit the mechanism, and free himself. And then she could free him. It was flawless. 

The Doctor took a deep breath. 

“I’m…”

He pulled his hand back.

“…the…”

He launched the pebble through the air. It bounced off the ground. And then flew off down the hallway in the to total opposite direction of the control panel. The two watched as it clinked pathetically down the hallway getting quieter and quieter as it went. The two stood in silence for a few seconds.

“…Doctor.” The Doctor murmured under his breath, embarrassed. 

The new Doctor clapped her hands together. “Right, plan B.” She held out her hands and motioned to the Doctor. The Doctor, instantly understanding, took off his scarf. He bundled it into his hands, and while keeping a tight hold of one end, threw it across the hallway towards the new Doctor. She grasped desperately, just barely clinging to the end. She took the scarf in her hand, and the Doctor held tight to his. The looked across to each other and gave a knowing nod.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there; scarf taut between them. Eventually, however, they heard the unmistakable, distant sound of a speeder coming their way. If they could knock one of those rude robots from their speeder and damage it in the process, they could use the guard to open their cells, and they would be free. However, the speed of the impact could cause significant damage to themselves, and so, they braced. The Doctor closed his eyes as the sound got closer and closer. The screaming of the speeder was almost deafening as it hurled towards them.

And then, silence. The Doctor slowly opened his eyes. He turned to the hallway to see a guard. It had stopped its speeder inches from the scarf. If the robotic face could show any emotion, it would be anger.

“What are you doing?” It buzzed at them.

The Doctor leaned to the side, looking at the new Doctor. She looked equally as bewildered.

“Plan C?” He asked.

“Plan C.” She agreed.

The both dropped the scarf and raised their hands. “Aah, glad to see we got your attention.” The Doctor quipped.

“Attention?” The guard said. Despite the monotone voice, they could sense the scepticism.

“Yes, you see, we just wanted to ask you something.” The Doctor continued.

“I am not scanning your DNA file again.” The guard snapped.

“Actually,” The new Doctor piped up. “I was wondering if you could scan mine?”

“You have just got here.” The guard jeered.

“I believe you’re thinking of someone else.” The Doctor insisted. “We’ve known each other a long time, me and blondie there.”

The guard looked from one Doctor to another. Despite its sassiness, it was still a machine. It could read the two and sense that they were in fact telling the truth.

“Very well, implementing DNA scan.”

The guard held up a device to the new Doctor and scanned her. The machine whirred and churned. Finally, a happy _ding_ emanated from the scanner. The guard stared at it, silently.

“Well?” The Doctor asked with mock curiosity.

“It says…” The guard began, unsure with itself. “…it says you have served almost two thousand years of your sentence.”

The new Doctor looked over to his future self, mouthing “two thousand years?” in shock. She shrugged and gave the “so so” hand gesture back. As the guard looked up from its scanner, the two snapped back to looking innocent.

“I…” The guard fizzed. “…I suppose you have served your sentence.”

“Well, fancy that.” The new Doctor beamed. “Do you mind?”

She gestured to her cell door. The guard, unsure about itself, gingerly pressed the control panel. The door flung open and the new Doctor stepped free, stretching her arms.

“Man, two thousand years can give you such a crick in the neck.” She bellowed. She took the guards hand and shook it vigorously. “Thank you, it’s been a real learning experience.”

She turned to leave but spun back on the guard.

“Actually, as a law abiding, free civilian, can I ask something?”

The guard paused. “I suppose.”

“Could you scan my friend here?”

She motioned towards the Doctor, who gave the guard a cheeky little wave. The guard hesitated. It knew something was amiss, but it couldn’t turn down such a simple request from a civilian. It raised its scanner and buzzed it in the direction of the Doctor. With another happy _ding_ the guard darted its eyes up to the Doctor.

“Free man, right?” The Doctor said.

The guard fizzed. “Correct.” 

“Already served my sentence and was released, right?”

The guard paused. “Correct.”

The Doctor shrugged. “It’s OK, I won’t tell your boss, easy mistake to make. Just pop open the door, and we’ll call it even.”

The guard was close to melting down. The whirring and buzzing emanating from it were beginning to worry the two. However, it had no choice but stumble over to the Doctors cell and reluctantly open the door. 

The Doctor stepped out and stretched, much in the same way his future self did.

“Thank you, metal head.”

He stooped down and picked his scarf up from the floor, wrapping it around his neck. Turning to the new Doctor, he gave her a reassuring smile. 

“And you.” He stretched out a hand. “Happy new year.”

The new Doctor smiled back, taking his hand in hers. “Should old acquaintance be forgot?”

“Apparently not. And thank you for that.”

The new Doctor released her grip, darting suddenly down the corridor. The Doctor looked over to the guard, pointing the direction she ran.

“That looked a bit like jaywalking to me. Well, running, I should say.”

The guard didn’t move. The Doctor looked it up and down. Perhaps it had short circuited? Quite honestly, the Doctor wasn’t fussed. He had more important things to attend to. He strolled down the long corridor, looking for his pebble.


End file.
